2021-11-17

South Shore projects benefit from beautification and works program funding

by KEVIN MCBAIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Region of Queens Municipality (RQM) has received $20,000 out of the nearly three-quarters of a million dollars the province is doling out to 37 projects in communities and municipalities in Nova Scotia through its Beautification and Streetscaping Program (BSP) and the Community Works Program (CWP).

The Nova Scotia Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing made the announcement Nov. 9.

The funds will help RQM cover a proposed wayfinding project.

RQM Mayor Darlene Norman said the money will be used for "design and costs of directional signage throughout the county following on the Queen's Coast re-branding project." This will include new Gateway to Kejimkujik signage for Caledonia.

Both government funding programs are application-based and fund up to 50 per cent of the costs of eligible municipal projects up to a maximum of $25,000.

The wayfinding project is just one of the many South Shore programs being funded. The Town of Mahone Bay received $25,000 for a Bayview Cemetery Façade Restoration project. The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg received $25,000 for the implementation of Phase 1 of its wayfinding signage project and the Town of Bridgewater received $25,000 for its Riverfront and Downtown Placemaking Initiative.

The CWP creates job opportunities for youth and unemployed people to gain skills and experience in their fields.

Under this program, the Town of Mahone Bay received $7,900 for its Natural Asset and Cemetery Mapping project. The Town of Bridgewater received $25,000 for a Riverfront and Downtown Placemaking Coordinator and the Municipality of Chester was granted $25,000 for its Accessibility Coordinator.

"We are pleased with today's announcement. This funding will help us advance social inclusion for differently-abled people in our rural communities, a priority for our region. We anticipate a lot of work, but it is work we are prepared to do and are anxious to begin," Allen Webber, the warden for the Municipality of Chester, said in a news release issued by Municipal Affairs and Housing.

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